Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #116487

Jennifer J. Frost, DrPH, Susheela Singh, and Lawrence B. Finer, PhD. The Alan Guttmacher Institute, 120 Wall Street, New York, NY 10005, 212-248-1111, jfrost@guttmacher.org

In this paper we investigate inconsistent and incorrect method use and women's experiences with contraceptive service providers. In 2004, a nationally representative sample of nearly 2,000 women aged 18-44 who were at risk for unintended pregnancy were interviewed over the telephone. Detailed information on contraceptive use during the past 12 months was collected. Data were also collected on the types of providers women visited for contraceptive services, whether they received specific types of information and counseling related to method use, their experience with method side effects and with providers' help around resolving or understanding side effects, how they paid for their care and whether they had health insurance. Preliminary results indicate that even when using a method, many women are exposed to the risk of unintended pregnancy because they use their method inconsistently or incorrectly. Two in five pill users reported skipping one or more pills in the prior 3 months and only half of women using condoms as their most effective method reported use every time they had sex. The analysis will document the level of contraceptive efficacy. It will also examine relationships between inconsistent and incorrect method use and provider interactions, controlling for insurance coverage, ability to pay and other personal and socio-economic characteristics, with the goal of assessing the relative importance of providers in women's efficacy in using contraception. The findings of this investigation will be used to make recommendations regarding ways that providers can better help women to be more effective contraceptive users.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe women's efficacy in using contraceptive methods.
• Describe how women's experiences with contraceptive service providers may affect their efficacy in using methods.
• List recommendations to providers for improving women's contraceptive efficacy.

Keywords: Contraceptives, Providers

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.